December 20th, 1908

Born on December 20th, 1908

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 42,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 81 days, exactly on September 12th, 2026, people who were born on December 20th, 1908 will be 43,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on December 20th?

December 20th, 1955

Cardiff was recognised as the capital of Wales by the British government.

December 20th, 1852

Led by George Cathcart, British troops defeated Basuto and Taung forces at the Battle of Berea in present-day Lesotho, leading to an offer of peace from King Moshoeshoe I.

December 20th, 1248

Attempting to form an alliance with the Mongol Empire, Louis IX of France met with two of their envoys while en route to the Seventh Crusade.

December 20th, 1968

The first two confirmed murders by the Zodiac Killer occurred in Benicia, California, in a case which remains unsolved.

December 20th, 2007

Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art before being recovered about three weeks later.

December 20th, 1999

Portugal transferred the sovereignty over Macau, which it had administered since the mid–16th century, to China.

December 20th, 1995

American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Buga, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 people on board.

December 20th, 1988

The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, governing international cooperation against the illegal drug trade, opened for signatures.

December 20th, 1984

Twelve-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colorado; her body was not discovered until 2019.

December 20th, 1980

NBC aired the American football match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins without announcers.

December 20th, 1999

Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.

December 20th, 1995

American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia, killing 159 of the 163 people on board.

December 20th, 1977

With the approval of the State Council, China's two largest newspapers, the People's Daily and the Guangming Daily, publish in full for the first time the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme.

December 20th, 1991

A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.

December 20th, 1970

Koza riot: After a series of hit-and-runs and other vehicular incidents involving American service personnel, roughly 5,000 Okinawans take to the streets, clashing with American law enforcement in protest against the U.S. occupation of Okinawa.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on December 20th

Same year
Born in 1908

78

Simone de Beauvoir

French philosopher, social theorist and activist (1908–1986)

*January 9th, 1908, Paris †April 14th, 1986, 14th arrondissement of Paris

64

Lyndon B. Johnson

President of the United States from 1963 to 1969

*August 27th, 1908, Stonewall †January 22nd, 1973, Stonewall

57

August-Martin Euler

German politician (1908–1966)

*May 9th, 1908, Kassel †February 4th, 1966, Brussels metropolitan area

100

Claude Lévi-Strauss

French anthropologist and ethnologist (1908–2009)

*November 28th, 1908, City of Brussels †October 30th, 2009, 16th arrondissement of Paris

66

Louis Jordan

American jazz, blues and rhythm and blues musician, songwriter and bandleader (1908–1975)

*July 8th, 1908, Arkansas †February 4th, 1975, Los Angeles

65

Salvador Allende

28th president of Chile (1908–1973)

*June 26th, 1908, Santiago †September 11th, 1973, Santiago

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

*December 31st, 1908, Buchach †September 20th, 2005, Vienna

81

Bette Davis

American actress (1908–1989)

*April 5th, 1908, Lowell †October 6th, 1989, Neuilly-sur-Seine

52

Richard Wright

American writer (1908-1960)

*September 4th, 1908, Natchez †November 28th, 1960, Paris

83

Olivier Messiaen

French composer, organist and ornithologist (1908–1992)

*December 10th, 1908, Avignon †April 27th, 1992, Clichy

97

John Mills

English actor (1908-2005)

*February 22nd, 1908, Felixstowe †April 23rd, 2005, Denham

85

Raymond Scott

American composer, bandleader, pianist, record producer and inventor (1908-1994)

*September 10th, 1908, Brooklyn †February 8th, 1994, North Hills

91

Amintore Fanfani

Italian politician statesman (1908–1999)

*February 6th, 1908, Pieve Santo Stefano †November 20th, 1999, Rome

89

James Stewart

American actor (1908–1997)

*May 20th, 1908, Indiana †July 2nd, 1997, Beverly Hills

92

Imogene Coca

American comic actress (1908–2001)

*November 18th, 1908, Philadelphia †June 2nd, 2001, Westport

84

Robert Morley

British actor (1908–1992)

*May 26th, 1908, Semley †June 3rd, 1992, Reading

82

Robert Cummings

American actor (1910–1990)

*June 9th, 1908, Joplin †December 2nd, 1990, Woodland Hills

82

Jill Esmond

British actress (1908–1990)

*January 26th, 1908, London †July 28th, 1990, Wimbledon

57

Elio Vittorini

Italian writer and novelist

*July 23rd, 1908, Syracuse †February 12th, 1966, Milan

81

Herbert von Karajan

Austrian conductor (1908–1989)

*April 5th, 1908, Salzburg †July 16th, 1989, Anif

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on December 20th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day, Earliest date for Winter solstice's eve) which are celebrated on December 20th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

Yes: 1908 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
December 1908